revenge

Movie Reviews 4/5 Stars: Cold Pursuit

Julie Gilbert Movie Reviews, suspense, thriller , , , ,
neat movie teaser poster

*Spoilers will be after the Ads

Summary:

Liam Neeson plays Nels Coxman whose son Kyle gets killed because of a drug thing he probably wasn’t even involved in.

Additional Comments:

– It reminded me of Bad Times at the El Royale. (More on that later.)

– Liam Neeson often plays these sorts of characters. One man vs. the world sorts of tales.

– Random – I feel like I’ve seen Tom Bateman (Trevor “Viking” Calcote) before, but I totally can’t remember where. I checked his Rotten Tomatoes page and still come up blank. Weird.

– Emmy Rosum plays Kim Dash, a young, idealistic cop in the small town.

– Humor 4/5 stars: Their humor is dark but hilarious at times.

– Story 4/5 stars: It’s a pretty straightforward story, but they manage to throw in a few twists and heart-tuggy moments.

– I enjoyed the fact that it didn’t rely on curse words to carry the dialogue. Little moments mattered to the plot too. That was cool to see.

Conclusion:

It’s worth seeing eventually. Not sure it’s a “must see in theaters” type flick, but if you like twisty tales of revenge with murder and mayhem as part of the package deal, this is for you.

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)

Amazon Prime

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.


OR

Spoiler Section:

– What made it feel like Bad Times at the El Royale? Well, they weren’t afraid to kill off characters. I also think they made some of the same directing choices in terms of how they told the story.

– The way they chose to show who died was awesome. It’s a little cross or symbol that represents them well with their name and nickname on a black screen. I laughed out loud when the credits page rolled up with “In order of disappearance.”

– This is definitely a movie where you’re going to lose track of the body count.

– Viking’s obsession with health and correcting the dude’s grammar was kind of funny.

Awesome Audiobooks: 4.5/5 Stars: The Kill Shot by Tony Gavin

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Western , , , ,

 

Introduction:

Western’s not typically a genre I seek out, either in movies or books. That said, this is a very good story.

Summary:

Darcey Teller and Luv Lass team up to take on some heartless outlaws.

Additional Comments:

– The blurb pretty much outlines the whole story.
– It’s not a perfect story, but there are enough twists and turns to keep things interesting.
– Darcey’s emotions are a bit hard to peg down. She goes basically ballistic over the death of a total stranger. That’s weird. The husband thing I get. That makes more sense because there’s a much closer connection, but the other part doesn’t click.
– The friendship that grows between Darcey and Luv Lass happens in fits and spurts, which is great.
– Pacing’s strange. Some sections drag on and then others pass in a blink. But the key for me is the good guys/bad guys. There are clearcut lines here, and I wanted to root for the good guys.

Conclusion:

A worthwhile Western to dive in to. If you’re a casual Western fan like me, go for it.

Associate links to follow…

Amazon Prime

Audible: I have a lot of free codes for my books. Check ’em out.


Audiobook Reviews: Diamonds and Cole by Michael Maxwell

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, mystery, Reader Resource , , , ,

Introduction:

I’ve had the privilege of listening to a lot of audiobooks of late, and I’ll say that this is one of the most compelling of the lot for large sections. The narrator fits the role very well. I have a few content reservations, but overall, the hours slipped by swiftly while listening to this.

Summary:

Cole Sage gets a call from an old flame and goes flying to her side. There, he finds her languishing in a nursing home with a couple of huge favors to ask of him. From there, Ellie and Cole’s story unfolds in detail. To him, she’s the one that got away, the one he walked away from because his career sang a siren song.

Why I have slightly mixed feelings:

  • There are some events in here that I find disturbing. They show a cruel streak in our hero. In one sense, it fleshes Cole out and gives him a few flaws, but in another sense, it just makes him look like a petty jerk. That’s not cool. I want to be able to root for the good guy always.
  • It’s categorized as a mystery, but it’s probably 30% mystery with 70% romance done in flashbacks. For once, the flashbacks are done very well. Cole has some downtime at various points in the book so he thinks and dreams about times with Ellie.
  • Ellie and Erin are decent characters, but again, choices are made along the way that cast them in a less flattering light.
  • I heard the audio performance by Lou Hecker. For the most part, it’s a stellar performance. Unfortunately, there are times he did his job too well. The few times he was doing a TV like preacher set my teeth on edge by being both loud and 130% annoying. There was one slight editing mistake in the almost 8 hour narrative.
  • Content warnings: some strong language; a disturbing/crude image within the first few pages. Aside from those though, it was fairly clean compared to the grand scope of modern mysteries.

What I liked:

  • The twist at the end is highly predictable but also satisfying.
  • I loved the narrator.
  • The story of Cole’s relationship with Ellie unfolds in a series of flashbacks. It’s filled with regret but beautiful all the same. I loved how he flew to her side and becomes her knight in tarnished armor. He might not be perfect but at least he’s willing to stand up for his friend.
  • The characters in here are quite interesting, flaws and all.
  • I liked the FBI guy – Ferguson (sorry about spelling, I heard the audio).
  • Aside from the few spots mentioned above, it’s an easy to listen to narrative.
  • Cole’s the kind of guy you can see getting in to a lot of trouble.

Conclusion:

This is only the first in a long series of books about the title character. If the opportunity arose again, I’d probably pick up another and see what’s up in Cole’s life.

As Always …

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Thanks for your time.

Sincerely,

Julie C. Gilbert

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